Snapshots of Us Vol 1
by les etoiles et le ciel
Summary: little drabbles of Itachi and Ino throughout their relationship/itaino, trying to post at least once a day. comments/thoughts appreciated
1. First Impression and Authors note

Mira: Heya, it's been a LONG long time since I last wrote a naruto fic(let alone any fic), so I decided, "hey why not do a drabble challenge?" since I want to get back in the swing of things. Hopefully you guys enjoy how my writing style has change for the better, because I know my grammar has definitely improved with age. So here I am, writing some more itaino for any of you guys that enjoy that.

 **Important:** These will not be in chronological order of events, just little snapshots of Itachi and Ino's relationship. Also writing these stories as if literally none of the events in Naruto ever happened, so keep in mind everyone is alive, characters may seem ever so slightly out of character, events may go differently, and relationships may be different. I'm forming the characters how I would imagine they would act without all these personality defining events happening(ex. Sasuke and Itachi's relationship assuming he never wiped out their whole clan, how Itachi's personality would differ if he hadn't killed his clan)

Prompts taken from chatterboxrose on tumblr, will post link on my profile.

Without further ado, here's the first prompt

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1\. First Impression

Mother's day was a busy day in the flower shop. Ino had spent all day with her father in the shop grabbing people's bouquet orders from the back room and the night before making said bouquets with her father. Her father trusted her with watching the shop the next day while he had to be at the Interrogation office. Even though she was only 6, she knew how to count money and make the most 'beautiful-ist' bouquet you'd ever seen. Although she was by herself mainly because Inoichi had figured there wouldn't be much business today.

Ino was shook to full attention when the bell on the door jingled, alerting her to incoming customers. She beamed when she saw it was her beloved Sasuke-kun that opened the door.

With her eyes scrunched shut and the biggest smile she could flash on her face, she began to greet him.

"Welcome Sasuke-kun! What brings you-" she paused when she opened her eyes and saw a taller boy who Sasuke was now standing behind, he looked just like Sasuke but… dare she think it… cuter? She had never seen him before but she knew who it was, Itachi Uchiha.

"Good afternoon. I'm Itachi, Sasuke's older brother."

She couldn't believe he was standing in front of her, he was a legend, he was only 10 and he had been promoted to chunin just a few months ago. Her heart fluttered as he introduced himself to her. She was almost so entranced by the older boy that she nearly forgot to answer him.

"G-good afternoon, Itachi-kun… er Uchiha-san!" She mentally smacked herself for calling him so informally. "My name's Ino Yamanaka, and this is my dad's flower shop."

She was proud of her introduction, Itachi just grinned at her. She felt her cheeks heat up at the simple gesture and decided she'd better talk to distract him the brothers from noticing her now red stained cheeks.

"So, Sasuke-kun what can I help you guys out with today?" She tried her best to sound formal and cool in front of Itachi.

"We're here to get flowers for our mother, she is returning from a mission tonight so Sasuke and I wanted to surprise her, right Sasuke?" Itachi answered and Sasuke nodded, too shy to speak.

"We don't have any pre-arranged bouquets left, but I can throw one together just for you!" Ino tried to respond nonchalantly, but she was eager to impress the elder Uchiha with her bouquet making skills.

"I'm sure it will be beautiful, right Sasuke?" Itachi replied, grinning at her once again.

"Just give me a minute and I'll have the perfect one for you!" She rushed to the back as she felt her heart melting, out of eye from the brothers, she took a deep breath.

She was already fantasizing about her bouquet for the day she told Itachi 'I do'.


	2. Beautiful

**Important:** These will not be in chronological order of events, just little snapshots of Itachi and Ino's relationship. Also writing these stories as if literally none of the events in Naruto ever happened.

Prompts taken from chatterboxrose on tumblr

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2\. Beautiful

Laying in bed with her was one of his favorite things in the world. Twirling his lovers long blonde hair between his fingers, still wet from her shower. Tracing patterns on her exposed skin. Nothing was better than laying with her after having their hours of pleasure.

His eyes scanned over her sleeping form, her face relaxed, tiny freckles dusted across her nose and a light sunburn from her mission in Sunagakure. He traced the freckles on her shoulder with his index finger down to her arm until he reached her hand. Her hands were so delicate, for a well trained ninja at least, they were rough but not like his own.

He glanced at the dark purple mark he had accidently left on her collarbone, a few more healing bruises were scattered throughout the area as well. Amongst the bruises on her decolletage were an array of scars acquired throughout her life as a shinobi, some big and some small. He smoothed over them with his fingers and kissed her forehead.

"Mm... 'Tachi, what're ya doin'?" she mumbled, roused awake(slightly) by his light caressing of her skin.

"Nothing, Ino. I'm sorry for waking you."

"Mmm." she grumbled as her turned towards him, draping her arm around his abdomen.

He watched as the sheet shifted to expose her naked back, wondering how he had ended up here with the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.


	3. Mock

**Important:** These will not be in chronological order of events, just little snapshots of Itachi and Ino's relationship. Also writing these stories as if literally none of the events in Naruto ever happened.

Prompts taken from chatterboxrose on tumblr

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3\. Mock

When Ino had become engaged to Itachi her name was in most of the town's mouth. Along with all the congratulations she had received there was a fair amount of naysayers.

She didn't blame them much, their relationship had definitely been kept secret from everyone besides family and close friends so when news they had been engaged spread through the village it had come as a shock to most of Konoha.

Her favorite explanation for their 'sudden' engagement was that she had been so obsessed with the Uchiha that she used her mind transfer technique on his father and forced Itachi into arranged marriage.

It was amazing what jealous women could come up with.

Among one of the most reasonable of the village women's theories was that she was the heir to the Interrogation unit after her father, and he was the heir to the military police after his father, that it was all a political marriage and a way of joining the two clans forces.

What she could not stand was being talked down about by the women who envied her for being the fiancée of the most powerful ninja in Konoha.

"I'm Yamanaka-san and I slept my way into the Uchiha family. Look at me with my big boobs and nice body. He's only with me for it." she heard while walking down the streets of the village with Shikamaru and Choji.

She stopped dead in her tracks and Shikamaru scoffed, knowing from the gritting of her teeth and the vein bulging in her forehead that she was pissed. "Troublesome" she could hear him say.

"She's not even good enough for someone like Uchiha-san. Such a weakling, it had to have been arranged, I bet he's unhappy with her."

Choji gulped as Ino stormed in the direction of the women gossiping about her, hellfire left in her tracks.

"If I am so weak why don't you discuss your opinions about me to my face, huh?!" she yelled at the women who were formerly making fun of her.

"Y-yamanaka-san, I-I didn't mean-"

"For me to hear you? I would bet you didn't!" she screamed at the woman who dare talk back to her.

"Don't speak of my relationship as if you know a single thing about it." she glared daggers at the now shaking woman.

"Ino, come on we need to get going on this mission." Shikamaru called to her.

"Yeah, yeah." she waved him off before turning back to the women in front of her, to scared to speak. "Why don't you think about this encounter next time you decide to mock me."


	4. Smile

**Important:** These will not be in chronological order of events, just little snapshots of Itachi and Ino's relationship. Also writing these stories as if literally none of the events in Naruto ever happened.

Prompts taken from chatterboxrose on tumblr

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4\. Smile

"Sasuke come on, you want to surprise mom with me right?"

"Yes! But Ino-chan makes me nervous! She always talks to me and smiles at me and-" Itachi cut him off, he was a little irritated by his brother's ability to make excuses for anything he didn't want to do.

"Come on, for mom. Just open the door and walk in."

Sasuke nodded coyly and turned the knob of the front door of the flower shop, opening the door Itachi wondered what this Yamanaka girl could possibly look like if she scared her brother as much as she did.

He peeked through the doorway to see a tiny blonde girl sitting on the front desk of shop, smile expanding over nearly her entire face.

That was the first time he saw that infectious smile of hers, so radiant and bright, holding its intensity throughout the years. Making her smile was a bigger accomplishment to him than any ANBU mission he'd completed in his life.

He had wondered for a moment, just how big her smile would be when he asked her out on a real date when he got back from this mission.


	5. Feather

**Important:** These will not be in chronological order of events, just little snapshots of Itachi and Ino's relationship. Also writing these stories as if literally none of the events in Naruto ever happened.

Prompts taken from chatterboxrose on tumblr

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5.) Feather

Itachi had a way with his hands, that is to be expected with someone with such a deep understanding of the shinobi way. But he really had a way with his hands.

Of course his hand signs were perfect and he could perform them faster than the average shinobi, but that's not what she was talking about.

His worn hands always had a feather light touch no matter what the man was doing. Caressing her cheek, brushing her bangs from her face, braiding her hair on a rare lazy afternoon spent in bed, roaming them across her body.

She remembered the first time he'd done that, it drove her wild, his touch was so soft it nearly tickled, sending shivers down her spine. She was amazed that such a fierce ninja could be so gentle with her.

Of course they both knew, he could only ever be so gentle with the woman he loved


	6. Tease

**Important:** These will not be in chronological order of events, just little snapshots of Itachi and Ino's relationship. Also writing these stories as if literally none of the events in Naruto ever happened.

Prompts taken from chatterboxrose on tumblr

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6\. Tease

Since the day he had gone with Sasuke to the Yamanaka's flower shop to get their mother flowers for a belated Mother's day present, Itachi found himself wanting to go back to see his brothers schoolmate.

As a busy chuunin, he found it hard to find the time to go back to visit the funny girl. However, with his mother's birthday coming up, he figured he could make an excuse to go to the shop.

"Good morning Yamanaka-san," he greeted Inoichi as he let the door to the shop close behind him. "Is Ino-san here?"

"Good morning Itachi-san. Ino-chan is in the back room, may I ask why you need her?" Inochi replied raising a brow at the elder Uchiha brother.

"Sasuke and I stopped in a few months ago for flowers for our mother. Ino-san was here and my mother loved the bouquet she put together. Perhaps she could put together another for her birthday tomorrow?"

"I'll let her know that you're here." Inoichi smiled and with that, he walked into the back of the shop to retrieve his daughter.

"Uchiha-san!? Here to see m-me?" he heard Ino stammer from the back room. He smirked, of course he realized the girl seemed to have a crush on him at first sight, how could he be a good ninja if he didn't?

The girl walked out, recovered from her initial shock that he was here to see her, she was smiling widely at him.

"Hello Uchiha-san! My father said your mother enjoyed the bouquet I arranged for her, you would like me to make another one?"

Inoichi raised a brow at his daughter, he'd never heard her speak so formally to anyone.

"Yes Ino-san, I would appreciate that very much."

Ino walked into the back and put together a bouquet with lightning speed before returning back with a small but beautiful array of flowers for Itachi.

"Thank you so much Ino-chan, mother will think they're cute," he turned, smiling at the girl whose face was turning a few shades darker though she tried to maintain her composure at the sudden change in the honor-fic he used when he thanked her. "Just like you."

Ino looked as if she was going to burst open, figuring he should stop with the teasing, he turned to her father.

"How much do I owe you Yamanaka-san?" he asked.

Before the man could answer, Ino spurted out an answer. "On the house."

"I appreciate that Ino-san, but I could never just take them." he turned back to her father. "I believe they were this much last time." He said placing his money on the counter.

"Plus a tip for excellent service." he smiled at Ino while Inoichi counted the money that was given to him. "Thank you again Ino-san, I'll be seeing you."

Ino said a strained goodbye while trying to hold her smile on her face until her left the building. She let out the breath that she had been holding for since she handed him the bouquet.

Inoichi looked at his daughter shockedly, when did his baby girl turn into a young lady?


	7. Pure

**Important:** These will not be in chronological order of events, just little snapshots of Itachi and Ino's relationship. Also writing these stories as if literally none of the events in Naruto ever happened.

Prompts taken from chatterboxrose on tumblr

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7.) Pure

She loved waking up earlier than him, she always did after he got back from a long mission. She loved looking at his relaxed face in the first light of the morning. His soft features much more content than his usual stoic shinobi face.

She propped herself up, blanket falling from her bare chest, and she played with his fringe. When they were alone like this was the only time she could see him look so contented, she missed when they were young and the pure relaxed expression on his face had not been so rare to see.

She sighed, knowing he wanted her to wake him when he slept in like this. He had business to attend to with the Military police, and he always wanted to visit Shisui's grave before going back to seeing his father or leaving for a mission. She wished she could relish in moments like these forever

"Itachi," she nudged him. "Do you want me to make you food before you go?"

His eye cracked open, looking at his lover for a moment in the soft light coming from the cracked blind, before closing it again.

"Not today." he pulled Ino closer to him, nuzzling into her chest. "I'm yours this morning."


	8. Lie

**Important:** These will not be in chronological order of events, just little snapshots of Itachi and Ino's relationship. Also writing these stories as if literally none of the events in Naruto ever happened.

Prompts taken from chatterboxrose on tumblr

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8\. Lie

His fiancée has left him alone in bed early in the morning again. Originally he had figured that she was at the interrogation office, and she said she had been.

But when he went to say goodbye to her before leaving for an extended period of time on an S-rank mission, Ibiki had told him that she hadn't been due to come in at all that day.

The lie she had told him bothered him on his entire mission, he trusted his future wife fully and couldn't imagine why she would hide anything from him.

By the time he'd gotten home she was already sound asleep, and in the morning she was gone again. She didn't wake him, or leave a note to tell him where she had gone. Ruminating in his irritation with her dishonesty, he waited for her to return from wherever she had gone.

"Where have you been disappearing to?" he asked as soon as he heard the door open.

"What do you mean, love? I've just been working interrogations." she lied again.

"Ino. Why are you lying to me? What have you really been doing and why will you not tell me." she flinched at being called out on her avoidance of the truth.

"Itachi.." she could tell that he was hurt and upset, the only lie she had ever told him was when they were young and she claimed she didn't have a crush on him.

"What are you doing behind my back?" he asked her, she could hear the hint of betrayal in his voice. She'd never meant to hurt him. "I attempted to say goodbye to you before I had to leave for that long month, and they told me you weren't there, nor were you do to be in."

"Itachi, I'm sorry. I didn't know how to tell you." she took a deep breath and sighed before continuing. "I've been seeing Tsunade-san. I'd been waking up with morning sickness for a while, when I was late for my cycle I had to go."

Itachi's eyes widened at the revelation she was about to lay down on him.

"We're expecting our first child in January."

Itachi shot off of his chair and wrapped his fiancée in an embrace. "Why would you hide this? This is amazing news." His happiness was mildly postponed when he looked his lover in the eyes, she looked...sad.

"I don't know if I'm ready to be a mother." her reply had left him at a loss for words, "I know about all the evil in the world, what if I'm not strong enough to protect them?"

His heart softened for his love, "Dear, you have me through everything."

"What if something happens to one of us, or both of us? I don't want our child going through this world feeling alone, especially with the kind of people that exist."

"I will never let anyone touch a hair on either of your heads, just please… don't lie to me again."


	9. Fight

**Important:** These will not be in chronological order of events, just little snapshots of Itachi and Ino's relationship. Also writing these stories as if literally none of the events in Naruto ever happened. Like I said in the first chapter, events in the story may go differently.

Prompts taken from chatterboxrose on tumblr

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9\. Fight

He knew Ino was in the top of her class at the academy along with Sasuke, but watching her match against Sakura in the chunin exams really enlightened him as to how cunning she really was.

He heard Ino complain about their seemingly even match up and Sakura make a comment about her vanity impeding her training as a ninja. A rather foolish comment to make to someone who finished in a higher class rank.

That's when Ino seemingly lost it, grabbing a kunai from the utility pouch on her leg she chopped her lengthy ponytail to the near base, throwing the remnants in her hand toward the other girl, scattering between them on the ground. She announced that she was going to use the mind transfer on Sakura, piquing his interest.

He saw the concerned looks on her team's faces, they knew there was no way it would hit a moving target, only traveling in a straight line at a slow speed. If she missed her body was open season for the other girl.

His brow raised when Sakura continually tried to move from her spot to attack Ino's seemingly unconscious body. Ino let out a snort and that was when he saw the chakra ropes running through her discarded hair. She had trapped the other girl in her place.

"It's over for Sakura." Kakashi stated to his brother and Naruto.

Itachi smirked as Ino forced Sakura's body to forfeit, he'd be damned if she didn't end up as one of the best kunoichi Konoha had ever seen.

He'd be sure to congratulate her on the fight later.


	10. Evasion

**Important:** These will not be in chronological order of events, just little snapshots of Itachi and Ino's relationship. Also writing these stories as if literally none of the events in Naruto ever happened.

Prompts taken from chatterboxrose on tumblr

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10\. Evasion

Sasuke had went and told Itachi of her insane crush on him in revenge for graduating 2nd in their class, one above him. She was was mad, angry and upset. Most of all she was scared, that Itachi would think she was just a weird little girl with a weird little crush on him.

She couldn't stand to think of him making fun of her, so she just decided that she would avoid him completely. She already knew she'd get rejected by the 16 year old, she was only 12, not even a teenager yet.

She sulked around her room, upset that all the time she spent crushing on him in secret was gone. He was already an ANBU agent, she just graduated the academy. How pathetic.

At least it would be easier for her to avoid him while he was out on his missions.

She would only work at the flower shop while he was out on a mission, knowing it would be the first place he would find her when he wasn't.

She tried to evade him by sitting in on Shikamaru and Asuma's shogi matches or going to eat with Choji, but she was so bored doing either of those things.

She would hang out with Sakura but if Sasuke was mad at her, Sakura probably was to. She had no idea how Sakura could side with Sasuke at a time like this, seeing as she was Sakura's very first friend. She considered herself lucky to have stopped crushing on Sasuke when she did, lord only knows how bad her friendship with Sakura would be if she did.

The next week rolled by and Itachi walked into the flower shop wearing his ANBU uniform, she cursed to herself, he was supposed to get done in 2 days, not now!

"Hello Ino-san, is there any particular reason you've been avoiding me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about I haven't been avoiding you, I've just been busy." She tried to play it cool.

"I have to ask, is what Sasuke told me true?" There it was, the big question she had hoped to go the rest of her life without hearing.

"Of course not! I do not have a huge crush on you." she laughed nervously, maybe he'd buy it?

"Oh." Sasuke had only told him that she graduated 2nd in the class, well amid complaining that he was only 3rd because of her. Sasuke probably threatened to tell him about her crush on him, that he could already clearly tell she had.

At least her evasion of him made sense now.


	11. Fire

**Important:** These will not be in chronological order of events, just little snapshots of Itachi and Ino's relationship. Also writing these stories as if literally none of the events in Naruto ever happened.

Prompts taken from chatterboxrose on tumblr

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11\. Fire

He looked at his wife's face, she looked gorgeous, holding their son close to her heart.

Their daughter, Tora, walked up to her mother and newborn brother.

"Mommy? Can I hold him? I promise I won't drop him!"

Ino smiled at their daughter and instructed her to sit down on the chair next to her, before having him hand the baby over to Tora.

"Hello wittle Inojou." Tora said with a smile. "I'm your big sister Tora, and I'm here to protect you always."

Itachi smiled fondly at the moment he and his family were sharing near the fire, he looked at his beautiful wife that was able to fill him with this much content in life and kissed her on the forehead.

She smiled back to him, he could tell she was exhausted from giving birth in the early morning but, he could also tell she wanted to stay right here with their family in this moment forever. He didn't blame her.

He was happy to witness the birth of his second child before being sent out on his next mission. It would be a hard one but this new edition to their small family would be all the more reason to return home safely. His family was his fire, one that would keep him going forever.


	12. Ice and Authors Note

**Important:**

Mira: Hello again readers. I've put some thought into what I am going to do with this story, and since the drabble challenge is 200 prompts total, I think that ill be splitting it into 4 stories with 50 chapters each. Its also a little discouraging not getting any feedback or ideas when taking on a challenge with so many prompts, so if you guys would comment and let me know that you're actually enjoying these stories it would mean a lot to me and help out the creative flow. I appreciate all the visitors I've been getting and I just want to thank you all for reading. With that said, I hope you guys like this chapter.

These will not be in chronological order of events, just little snapshots of Itachi and Ino's relationship. Also writing these stories as if literally none of the events in Naruto ever happened.

Prompts taken from chatterboxrose on tumblr

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12\. Ice

Snow in Konoha was a strange occurrence but welcomed nonetheless. It was January now, coming up on her father's birthday, so the cold front that turned all the incoming rain to snow wasn't all that shocking.

She made herself breakfast before slipping out of her pajamas to change into a warmer outfit. She used to hate the cold, but now it reminded her of better times. She envied how happy she used to be before, she was angered by how she let her hatred of the snow keep her from going outside to do something with her father on his birthday.

She made her way down to the flower shop, running her fingers over the closed sign before flipping it to open. She remembered when she was finally tall enough to stand on her tiptoes and barely reach it enough to turn it around, she was so proud of herself. She jumped up and down announcing her great feat to her father 'Daddy look I can reach it now!'

'Looks like I have a new employee now, don't I? My own sign changer.' he had said back to her.

She stared at the icicles hanging from the building across the street before cracking the front door to the shop open and peering at the gigantic icicles hanging from the flower shop.

She sighed before closing the door, wondering how Itachi was fairing on his mission with all the ice and snow on the ground. She missed him on days like this, days where business was slow so he would sit with her and she'd make tea for the both of them. The day was going to be long.

As night time rolled around, she turned the closed sign back around and locked the door, retiring upstairs to her room. She tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. She looked at the clock before changing once again and gathering her utility pouch.

She stepped outside of her home and looked at all the ice hanging off the sides of her roof.

Sighing, she watched her breath appear in front of her before disappearing again. She pulled a kunai out of her leg pouch and aimed for the base of the largest icicle, severing it from the building on contact. She hit a few more before retrieving her kunai from the snowy ground.

"Did the ice do something to you?" she heard from behind her, she turned around to be greeted by Itachi's face.

"I thought you were due back tomorrow morning." She avoided his question before continuing to knock icicles down.

"We finished early, I convinced the squad to head home so we'd make it back to our own beds tonight."

"Hmm." was her only response, she threw another kunai an icicle, but it was beaten to it by Itachi's own.

"I wanted to check on you. I know it's your father's birthday tomorrow."

She couldn't stop the tear that fell from her eye as he brought it up. She felt his hand on her shoulder, an attempt to comfort her.

"He used to bring me out here when I was younger and we would knock the icicles down, just like this, to practice my aim." he stayed silent, still holding onto her shoulder.

"I just miss him so much Itachi-san." she turned into his chest, breaking into sobs. He wrapped an arm around her and stroked her hair with the other.

"I know," he replied, attempting to soothe her. "I know."

Her father had died almost a year ago on a mission, the reality of the situation had hit her when she realized she'd ever again celebrate his birthday or knock down icicles with him.

"Let me walk you inside Ino-san, before your tears freeze onto your face."


	13. Cheer

**Important:** These will not be in chronological order of events, just little snapshots of Itachi and Ino's relationship. Also writing these stories as if literally none of the events in Naruto ever happened.

Prompts taken from chatterboxrose on tumblr

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13\. Cheer

He was glad he had the effect that he had on her, anytime he would come around she would cheer up instantly. He remembered when she was around 8 years old, a group of boys had called her stupid for liking something as delicate as flowers when she wanted to become a powerful kunoichi.

She had defended herself,saying she liked them because they were beautiful. He and Sasuke were a little disarmed when one of the boys had slapped the vase full of flowers she had just picked out of her hands and attempted to stomp on them. He hadn't got the chance because she had pummeled the boy before he could put his foot down.

He laughed to himself as the boy cried, being screamed at and hit repeatedly. His amusement at the situation was short lived at one of the boys friends had stomped the flowers for his friend while another pulled Ino off of the crying boy.

They ran from her and she turned around to find her flowers destroyed. Itachi felt a tweak in his heart as he looked at the girls sad expression, looking as if she was on the verge of tears.

"Ino-san, are you alright?" She looked up at him with an attempt to smile.

"Y-yes. Those flowers were for my mom's grave." she sniffled.

"Well, the vase didn't break. Why don't we go pick more flowers right now?" her disappointment disappeared immediately and she smiled at him. "I'll bring Sasuke too."

"Why me too?!" Sasuke shouted.

"Thank you for cheering me up, Uchiha-san." he ruffled her hair slightly before dragging Sasuke into the meadow with them.


	14. Teamwork

**Important:** These will not be in chronological order of events, just little snapshots of Itachi and Ino's relationship. Also writing these stories as if literally none of the events in Naruto ever happened.

Prompts taken from chatterboxrose on tumblr

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14\. Teamwork

They knew all about teamwork, they were shinobi after all. But after she had given birth to their daughter, they had to learn an entirely different kind of teamwork.

She was exhausted, Tora woke her up crying every 3 or so hours. She couldn't remember properly, she was too sleep deprived.

When Itachi was gone it was the worst, she was running on empty trying to take care of the baby by herself. This just wouldn't cut it anymore.

"Itachi. We need to talk." She said as he walked into their house to see his disheveled wife holding their crying daughter. "I think I've gotten a total of 10 hours of sleep the entire month that you've been gone, this isn't working."

Itachi felt bad that he had taken a mission lasting so long, he remembered when Sasuke was a baby. Needless to say, he shouldn't have left her alone for such a long time.

"I'm sorry, I'll speak to Hokage and ask not to be sent out, unless it is vital. I shouldn't have let you deal with this on your own." he responded, taking the baby from his wife's arms.

"I have half a mind to leave you alone with her for a month," she looked him dead in the eye, he wasn't to sure that she was joking at this point. "But seriously, we need a new plan. I feel like I'm going insane, I probably look insane too."

"Why don't you head to bed and I'll take care of Tora." he said sitting down with the baby, who had considerably calmed down, looking as though she was about to fall asleep.

"I think that's a good idea." she said sighing with pleasure as their daughter finally stopped crying. "I also think someone was just missing her father as much as I was."

She walked over to him and gave Tora a kiss on her forehead and giving Itachi a kiss before retiring to their room for the night.

"Love you, 'Tachi." she yawned before closing the door to their room.

"Love you too, Ino." he said, still staring at his baby girl. He was thankful he would finally get to spend some much needed time with his family, even if that meant waking up at unusual hours of the night on a daily basis and changing diapers.


	15. Kiss

**Important:** These will not be in chronological order of events, just little snapshots of Itachi and Ino's relationship. Also writing these stories as if literally none of the events in Naruto ever happened.

Prompts taken from chatterboxrose on tumblr

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15\. Kiss

She had just turned 19, he was still 23 at the time when he finally kissed her for the first time.

He didn't know what took him so long, deep down he knew that the affection he always had for her had, at some point, had turned into something deeper.

They had just gotten back from a mission to Kirigakure together, they had ran into one of the 7 ninja swordsmen of the mist and it took a lot out of them to finally lay him to rest. Itachi had been injured pretty badly and Ino was desperately trying to heal him enough so they could make it back to the nearest medical center.

She sat next to him on her knees, holding a healing chakra over his wound. She was crying but hadn't said a single word the entire time, trying to put all her focus into healing him, he could imagine what was going through her head. She had lost her mother at a very young age and lost her father just over 2 years ago. He knew what he meant to her, how much she cared for him, he knew she couldn't handle losing him too.

He was visiting her while she was in working in the flower shop when he thought about this moment. He had never put much thought into how he felt for her before, but after such an event it was hard not to.

She was telling him about some customer when he gave a hard look at her face. She was known to be pretty, he knew she had turned many guys down and he had overheard many of the men in the village refer to her as hot before. But she was absolutely stunning, from the beautiful shade of her eyes to her long mane of light blonde hair, she looked like a goddess to him.

He knew he cared about her fiercely, his reckless desire to protect her is what had gotten him injured during their run in with the swordsmen. She had become a weakness for him, and he knew you had to love someone for that to be the case.

She had called his name, she probably asked him a question that he missed as he was too deep in thought. He blinked at her, before humming in conformation that she had his attention.

"Are you okay?" she asked him concernedly, "You zoned out for a minute."

"I'm just thinking about something important." he responded, locked in eye contact with her. Be it that he never really thought about it before or if he was subconsciously waiting for her to be sure of her feelings for him as well, he was sure that he loved her.

"What is it?" she seemed slightly intimidated by his staring at her. He placed his hand on her cheek before responding to her

"I've just realized something I should have done a long time ago." Her eyes had become slightly hazy and her face was a bright pink color. He moved his face closer to hers and her eyes became half lidded as he moved in to kiss her.

He felt as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulder, he had unknowingly wanted this for a long time, she had too.

"Itachi…" she breathed out after their lips parted, he could tell she was slightly confused.

"Ino, I have cared about you for a long time. I apologize that it took this long to realize that I-" he was cut off by one of the Hokage's messengers.

"Uchiha-san, The hokage requests audience with you immediately. Please follow me." he sighed and started to follow the messenger out of the door.

"I'll be seeing you Ino." he said, holding open the door. He had walked out and left Ino stammering in confusion.


	16. Book

**Important:** These will not be in chronological order of events, just little snapshots of Itachi and Ino's relationship. Also writing these stories as if literally none of the events in Naruto ever happened.

Prompts taken from chatterboxrose on tumblr

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16\. Book

Holding their youngest daughter, she remembered every time she saw Itachi when they were kids, he was always reading. She decided she was going to read more too, she wrote out a list of books she had seen Itachi reading and gave it to her dad and asked if her would buy her some of them, as payment for working in the flower shop with him.

"Venturing out from your books about flower meanings?" he had asked her when he scanned over the list of books she had just given him.

"I believe it is important for a young girl to be more educated on more than just the art of being a kunoichi." she had said assertively, trying to sound mature.

"Okay okay sweetie, I'll leave you to take care of the shop for a little bit while I go out and get them. Sound good?"

She had been reading one of the books on a bench near the shop when Itachi walked up to her.

"Good afternoon Ino-san, I see your reading a poetry book?" he nudged the cover to read the title, "I finished this one a while ago actually."

"Good afternoon Uchiha-san, yes I am reading a poetry book. I like it a lot." she smiled at him, glad he noticed she was reading one of his favorites.

"If you like that, I have another that is similar to it that i just finished this morning. If would like to borrow it when you're done." he suggested to her.

"Yes, I'd like that a lot! I have one you can borrow too!" she immediately regretted the latter half her exclamation, all of the books she had were books she had seen him reading. She hoped he would decline her offer.

"I would also enjoy that." he snickered back to her, of course he didn't decline. "I have to get going to train with Sasuke but, since it looks like you're almost done that book I'll stop by tonight to exchange books. Have a good day."

"Y-you too, Uchiha-san." She panicked, what was she supposed to give him in exchange? He's already read everything she owns!

He showed up at the shop a few hours later to exchange books with her. He had given her another thick poetry book by a different author. She thanked him and nervously began the spiel she had cooked up in her head.

"I know this probably isn't the kind of thing you read but, here." she held out her _Language of the Flowers_ book to the older boy, she averted her gaze from him as she continued, "If you aren't interested, you can tell me."

"That sounds like a great book Ino-san, I will let you know how I like it."

She never expected that he actually ready it though, as he had given it back to her a few days later. But the night she had given birth to their third child she was at a loss for what to name her.

"How about Ran?" he suggested as he sat next to her, admiring the little blonde tuft of hair atop her head and her large blue eyes. She was adorable.

"Ran?" she asked her husband, raising a brow.

"A symbol of exotic beauty, she doesn't look much like an Uchiha now does she?" he started, he was right Tora had only gotten Ino's eyes along with beautiful long black hair from her father. Inojou, on the other hand, was the spitting image of Itachi. This one looked more like her. "Thoughtfulness, refinement, and mature charm."

"That'll work if she ends up taking after you." she laughed.

"Also symbolizes proud and glorious femininity. That sounds like you to me." she smiled at his words, she was glad he read her book.


	17. Magic

17\. Magic

The closest thing she had known to magic was the art of jutsu, that is until she had began a relationship with Itachi.

The Uchiha was almost inhuman to her, a god of some sort, doing anything he so pleased with perfection. The first time he kissed her, when he finally got to tell her that he loved her, their first time. All of his focus was always on her, how she felt. For a man who was wise beyond her, he wasn't afraid to be given direction, he had made her feel like she was floating.

Even before they defined their relationship as romantic one, he made her feel different than any other man she was friends with. He was so caring and made her feel safe in a way no one else could. He was there for her when her father died and when missions didn't go as planned. Always someone for her to lean on when she was going through a difficult time.

Maybe it was that magic feeling he had always given her or maybe it was just fate, but she had always known he was the one for her.


	18. Work

18\. Work

He was glad that Ino held a job outside of being a kunoichi, he always knew he could find her at the flower shop when she wasn't off protecting someone or something.

After her father died, she had become closed off to her friends. She began throwing herself into her work as a shinobi, leaving on missions as soon as she returned from one, not opening the shop inbetween. He hadn't seen her since the day it happened, there was no funeral as he had died outside of the village.

He checked every day that he knew she was in Konoha to see if she was opening up shop, but to no avail. He worried about her well being terribly, waiting for her to come out of her house or run into her on the street.

The flower shop had been closed for months by the time he finally came across Ino. He was visiting Shisui's grave when he saw her, hunched over on her knees in front of her parent's graves.

He called her name and he could see her tense up, it was late, she didn't think she'd run into anyone at this time of night.

"Ino, I'm sorry this has happened to you." he walked over to her, placing a hand on her back. She wiped tear from her face before standing up to face him.

"I am too." she replied solemnly, he felt a tweak in his chest as they made eye contact. Her eyes, the ones that were so full of life, looked completely dead.

"I've passed by the shop everyday you've been home. It's been closed for over 2 months." she averted her eyes at this statement. "It's not healthy to keep to yourself this much."

"I can't open the shop, I can't go back to work." she stated simply.

"Why is that?"

"It's not the same anymore. It was my mothers shop, my dad kept it running after she passed. It was always him and I working it. There's too many memories, too much pain."

"Wouldn't you think he'd want you to keep going? Wouldn't you want to remember those good times with him and keep the shop running, instead of letting the shelves collect dust?" he wanted to see her smiling at the counter again, just like when they'd first met.

"I suppose you're right, it's just so hard." she responded, shoulders slouching as she finished speaking.

"I've never known you to be someone to give up when things got hard, Ino." with a sudden movement he found himself in her tight embrace, it was moment before she started to cry again. He put his arms around the shaking girl, rubbing her back as he held her. She thanked him as she tightened her embrace.

"I think it's best you go get some sleep for once, I'll be seeing you working in the shop tomorrow."


	19. Fly

19\. Fly

As many times as she had lost people in her life, her mother and father, she had gained more than she would've imagined possible. Itachi and their 3 strong children filled a void in her soul that losing her parents had left.

As she laid on the ground of a forest somewhere on the outskirts of Konoha, bleeding horribly from a solo mission gone sour, they were all she could think about.

She wasn't ready to leave them yet she thought as she cried, willing herself to sit up. The wounds on her stomach burned as she pushed herself up enough to drag her body to the nearest tree with her arms. She couldn't give up, for her family's sake.

She thought of Itachi, how heartbroken he would be if she didn't return, found in the woods by ANBU. She knew how badly her father mourned when her mother died, she didn't want that for him.

Losing her mother was devastating, even at a young age. She had felt like a bird with an injured wing, unable to fly for a long time. Having her friends and father there with her was like a splint for her, it got her by, she could make it by just soaring short distances. She knew her children were strong, she was too, but the death of a mother wasn't something that you ever got over.

When her father died, it was completely paralyzing, as if that same birds splint were to snap, breaking it's wing forever. It felt like she would never again to take flight. She felt untouchable as a kid but, when her mother died that facade had crashed down, she began to worry if the same would happen to her father in that moment.

She couldn't let her kids feel like that, worrying about their father everyday of their lives because their mother was too sloppy and got herself killed.

She pushed against the tree, trying to slide up the tree and stand. Every part of her body was screaming at her to stop, but she kept pushing, not willing to be the flightless bird that the world was trying to render her. She had no energy but she wasn't giving up for sake of her family.

She staggered through, towards Konoha, trying to get grip of someone's chakra to send them a message to help her. She knew it was too far to cross the gates of the village by herself.

She tried to reach out to Inojou, knowing that his connection with her clans techniques were strong. She stumbled over her feet, her body's way of letting her know it was about to shut down. She stopped walking and leaned against a tree, focusing the last of her energy on her son's chakra signature.

She found him and sent her cry for help, trying to walk on again towards her home. She made out two figures running towards her as her vision blurred, a third following behind them.

She made out Itachi's face as her grew closer, his panic was evident. She smiled as consciousness began to slip from her. As her legs dropped from under her, she had hoped that she would be blessed enough to see her family's faces again.


	20. Snow

20\. Snow

Itachi sat beside his wife's bed in the medical center, their two youngest on the other side of her.

Ran was sleeping, slouched on Inojou's shoulder. She'd been trying to heal her mothers wounds while Inojou helped him carry her. Inojou on the other hand was simply staring at his mother's face, he knew how scared he was when he had received his mothers cry help, he too was terrified.

The feeling in his soul when he watched his wife drop face first into the ground of the snow covered forest was retched. It twisted and snapped when he saw the blood stains that remained there after picking her up.

He stood up and exited the room, patting his son on the head as he left. He stood outside and watched the snow continuing to hall on the village. He sneered as he looked down at the ground. Nothing good ever came with the snow.

On the rare times it did snow in Konoha, nothing good ever happened. Ino's father had died on a snowy day and with that every time it snowed she had broke down and cried. He had nothing but sour memories associated with snow.

"Dad." he heard his daughter call to him, arriving at the hospital from her mission. "Is she, is mom gone?"

He looked up at Tora, her blue eyes were now red. He would berate his son for not telling communicating to his sister that their mother was in stable condition.

"She hasn't woken yet, but she should be fine." Tora dropped to her knees, sending the fine snow into the air. Her sharingan deactivating as she looked back up to him.

"Mom's awake!" his youngest daughter screamed as she came running out of the building to retrieve them. Tora sped past him, going back into the building with Ran.

He turned to follow his daughters, turning back once more to look at the falling snow. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all.


	21. Ride

21\. Ride

It had went from just a young girls crush to much more than that. He'd been a friend, an ally, a lover, a partner, a husband, and the father of her children.

They had seen been through so much together. She'd seen him on the brink of death, as he'd seen her. He'd been there for her whenever she was going through hard times, always her rock through and through.

He'd inspired her to be a better shinobi, reaching past her limits as he always did.

She didn't know how she got so lucky to have someone in her life like him, even just to know him. Despite the mass of women that longed for him in the village he still loved only her.

He was such a loving father too, accompanying her to Tora and Inojou's chunin exams, supporting Ran's decision to work in Konoha's hospital and run the flower shop instead of becoming shinobi.

In the wild ride that was the life of a shinobi, she was glad he had always had him along for it.


	22. Castle

22\. Castle

When they had first began their relationship they had moved moved into a small house just outside the Uchiha compound. It wasn't much, but it was enough for two people who were barely home. It was quiet and they spent most of their off time lazing around or making love.

After they'd become engaged and she'd announced her pregnancy to him, they'd moved into a larger house in the Uchiha compound, one more suitable for a growing family.

When their first daughter was born he was overjoyed looking at when he and Ino had created. His mother was ecstatic too, saying she was going to spoil their little princess. His father was stern with him, telling him he needed to produce a male heir when they stepped outside of the delivery room.

Luckily, their next child was a boy. Itachi was glad to stop thinking about the politics behind his clan and putting Ino under any sort of pressure to have another child until they had a boy. Again his mother was enthralled to have a new little prince, his father was just glad to have an heir to the throne.

When their last daughter was born he'd named her after a flower he remembered from the book Ino had given him when they were young. Everyone had congratulated him when the news spread across the village that the head of the Uchiha clan had another child.

It was hard not to feel royal when people in the village knew things about his family before he'd even had a chance to open his mouth to say anything. Despite this, he knew his life could've gone differently than this. He was lucky to be able to be with a woman he loved instead of some woman he'd been betrothed to, lucky to be able to have kids with his wife because they wanted to, not because he had to produce an heir with the bride of his father's choice.

As he and Ino walked back to their house, bringing their newborn daughter home to their waiting children, their home had seemed like a castle to him, his prince and princess inside awaiting the arrival of the king and queen along with their new sister.


	23. Empty

23\. Empty

She looked across her childhood home once more before closing the door for the last time. She had all her belongings in boxes sitting outside of the house She'd never seen it this empty before. She'd grown up here, seeing it stripped of its personality seemed wrong.

She remembered making flower crowns with her mother in the kitchen area, trimming the stalks of flowers she had picked in the field to put in the house. Her best memories of her mother were in here, but she still had the flower shop to remember her by.

She and Itachi were moving into a new home, one that she could make new memories with Itachi.

Thinking of her childhood made her feel young, too young to be moving in with a man. However, she knew this was the next step in her life.

"Ino, are you ready to move your belongings?" Itachi asked her. She smiled and nodded, closing the door and following him.

She knew had to empty the house she grew up in to fill another with life, moving into her future with Itachi.


	24. Longing

24\. Longing

It had been a while since she last regarded her feelings for Itachi as a crush. She had always longed for him, one way or another, since she was a child.

When she was a child she wished to marry the boy, to have her father smile as she finally became a part of his life. Her eyes always sparkled with joy talking about him, knowing that he was the one she would wait for.

When she was a bit older, she longed for his praise, the idea of marriage in that back of her mind. She gave her all during the chunin exams so he would congratulate her for her newest achievement. For him to tell her that she was doing good, on her way to becoming a powerful kunoichi.

He'd watched her match with Sakura, he gave her the praise he so wanted, along with a comment about the short hair looking good on her. She'd longed for that too, she wanted Itachi to think she was pretty. She wanted him to only think of her as beautiful.

When she was older she just longed for him and his presence. She needed him when things went wrong. When her father died, she needed him to comfort her. She needed his attention when the only man obligated to love her had left this life.

She longed for him in other ways back then too. She wanted to know what his lips felt like on hers, on other parts of her body. She longed to hear him whisper sweet nothings into her ear, to tell her that it was her all along, that it had always been her that he wanted. She needed to feel his touch, his hands ravaging her body, touching her face, intertwining his fingers for her, making her feel beautiful.

She had always longed for him in some way, she never would have imagined she'd receive everything she'd longed for.


	25. Waiting

25\. Waiting

She'd left Itachi a note saying she'd be at the interrogation building by the time he woke up. She felt bad leaving him so early and lying about where she had been. It wasn't worth telling him she might be pregnant if she wasn't. She knew he needed to produce an heir for his clan, she didn't have any fertility issues, she just wasn't sure if she was ready yet.

After they'd gotten engaged, she was under pressure from his parents for their own reasons. His mother had just wanted a grandbaby, his father wanted a grandson, to take place after Itachi was done serving as the clans leader.

Going to the medical center, her suspicions had been confirmed. She was carrying their first child. She clutched her stomach, trying to think of the best way to tell Itachi the news.

She sat in their home and worked in the flower shop waiting for him to arrive home. She'd felt bad that he hadn't been the first person she'd told, the hokage had to know that she could no longer be deployed on missions.

Waiting to tell him was driving her nuts, she wasn't ready to be a mother, she wasn't ready to bring an heir into the world knowing that if it was a boy he would be forced into the life a shinobi to take the position of the Uchiha clan leader from his father. She had no one to talk about that with though, no one that would understand anyway.

So she waited for him to return home from his mission, waiting to finally tell him that he'd soon be a father.


	26. Sing

26\. Sing

All of their children had been criers when they were infants. He'd never known how to handle them when they cried but, Ino always had a way with them.

They always wanted their mother which made it hard for him when she'd be out working in the flower shop or the interrogation building. He had gotten better with time of course, with Ran he could tell she needed to be fed or if she was just too tired.There was always instances when nothing he could do for them would make them stop crying.

That's when Ino would always swoop in and save their children from screaming so much that they damaged their vocal chords. She'd hold them close to her heart and sing to them in there most beautiful angelic voice.

Her songs always made their children's crying halt abruptly. One that she sang frequently about knowing that no matter how lonely you felt, there were always people under the same sky to welcome you and make you feel a sense of companionship, another about the power people's words hold; helping you find strength.

She'd put them to sleep singing them those lullabies, they had nearly the same effect on him. She knew that too, singing him to sleep when his thoughts kept him awake.


	27. Silence

27\. Silence

Laying with her after a night of passion was his favorite thing, it always would be. The tranquility and silence of the moment was the most fulfilling thing.

He didn't really have a basis for his nagging thoughts, but he could never help but imagine her getting dressed and leaving him there right after they finished. Holding her in silence, drawing shapes on each other's naked bodies, always helped to dispel that thought.

That was all they needed, they didn't need to speak after, they both knew how good it was for each other. There was no need to be loud after such a session.

All he needed was to feel her body and presence next to him. They weren't tempted to continue what they had just finished, well, most of the time.


	28. Embrace

28\. Embrace

A warm embrace, a comforting embrace, a gentle embrace; they've shared many together.

He remembers their first, she was probably 18 at the time. He had given her a flowers for her birthday, at the time it seemed like a random selection but he had known what the meaning of the flower was. His mother was growing them in the garden, he'd asked if he could gift them to a friend and she giggled and agreed to let him do so. He dug them up and potted them himself to give to her.

The gardenia flower, symbolizes purity and sweetness, they indicate secret love and convey joy. They tell the receiver you are lovely. He knew this, he chose to feign ignorance when he gave them to her.

She stared at him with a doe-eyed look, her mouth slightly agape, she knew what these flowers meant. ' _But does he?'_ That was the question on her mind. He had told her that he thought she would like them, his mother was growing them and he thought they had the right look to them. He wasn't lying at the time, he just hadn't realized how he felt by then.

Thinking back on it he should've kissed her first then, he wished he could have gotten approval from her father to court her. The soft embrace he'd received from her was more than enough.

He was happy that it happened, happier though, that it would be the first of many.


	29. Drink and authors note

Mira: Just wanted to thank you all again for reading this story and the people that have left such nice reviews. I appreciate the feedback & love.

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29\. Drink

She was drunk, that much he could tell. He doubted she's ever had a drink in her life, she had only been 18 for a few months.

"Oi 'Tachi-san," she hiccuped, "Why're ya makin me leave?"

"You're drunk, Ino." he responded calmly, trying to keep her on her feet.

"No 'm not!" she hiccuped again.

"You can't even walk by yourself and you're slurring your words. Besides that you tried fighting Uzumaki-san in the middle of the street, you're lucky I was heading back home and caught you in time."

She went silent after that. He glanced at her, she was chewing on her bottom lip and staring at the ground. She was still stumbling around so he knew that she wasn't trying to focus on walking, so he wondered what was going through her mind.

They arrived at her front door and she attempted to unlock the door, failing miserably. He took the key from her and escorted her inside.

"Stay here I'm getting you some water." he said sitting her down on the couch. She still hadn't said a single word to him, he wondered why she had suddenly stopped being so vocal. "Drink."

She downed the glass of water in about 5 seconds, placing the glass on the table in front of her. Still not speaking a single word.

"Do you want to go to your bed?" he offered, still no reply. "Do you want me to go home?"

Starting to feel unwelcome, he rose to his feet, heading for the door. She grabbed the leg of his pants to stop him from doing so.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked, not looking up from the glass she was staring at.

"Why would you think that?" he countered, she must have taken what he said about finding her before about being too drunk as him being mad at her.

"You sounded, you sounded frustrated with me. I don't want to be a burden." she responded solemnly, hanging her head down now. His intention was not to upset her, if he had thought she was a burden he wouldn't have been sitting to with her now. She was however, intoxicated, he couldn't really blame her for misunderstanding while she was in such a state.

"I just wanted you to be safe, not fighting in the middle of the village. Please don't take what I said in the wrong way. I just don't understand why you got yourself so drunk."

"I can't stop thinking about my dad," she started to pick at her skirt, nervous about admitting her bad decisions. "I just wanted to feel better! I'm so tired of being so upset that I can't eat!" she sobbed to him, throwing her head back while she wailed.

"Ino. You can come to me, for anything, have I not proven that to you?" She threw himself into him, causing his back to crash into the cushions of the couch. He let her lay there, until she had cried it all out, exhausting herself.

He sat both of them upright, since he hadn't let her arms loose from being wrapped around the back of his neck, he snuck an arm below her knees and one behind her back and carried her into her bedroom. She didn't let go of him when he attempted to lay her in bed.

"Please 'Tachi stay with me." she said to him, opening her sleep ridden eyes.

He didn't know how he'd explain this one to his family if they asked but, he figured it would be best to make sure she didn't asphyxiate on her own vomit while she was sleeping. He agreed and made his was back to the couch, deciding to stay there for the night.

He'd have to ask her tomorrow what had made her attempt to fight Uzumaki-san.


	30. Warmth

30\. Warmth

If he had to ponder what exactly had attracted him to Ino in the first place, he would have to say it was her personality.

She was beautiful beyond compare but, they had met when they were young, he wasn't thinking about that when he was 10. He was pulled in by that smile of hers, and her sweet disposition.

She had this beautiful, glowing warmth to her that never went away, even after everything she'd been through. She was always happy, it was infectious even, he'd realized that firsthand. She was dignified, never letting someone talk her down or hurt her. She was inviting, able to hold a conversation with anyone she so pleased. She was smart and she was strong, something he would learn during the chunin exams.

Perhaps that's why he was shocked the first time he saw her breakdown and show something other than what she normally exuded to the world. Even then, she was still the same warm person, never wanting to worry the people around her. It was almost motherly.

It was that warmth that always made him want to be around her. He never had to deal with the tragic loss of his parents and he barely knew her when he lost Shisui but, he knew she would give him comfort if he needed it. It was just the kind of person she was, warm and caring.

He'd known this for a long time and he'd decided that he would show her the same kind of warmth she would show him. Because that's just the kind of person he wanted to be.

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A/N: 20 more chapters left! Thank you again to all my visitors for keeping me inspired.


	31. Cold

31\. Cold

She hated going to Kirigakure, no one ever returned without running into some sort of added roadblock. It was ridiculous, she was stricken with fear upon learning she was to go on a mission there, she was comforting to know that Itachi was being sent there with her.

Now here she was, trying to heal Itachi's wounds, his body growing cold from the blood loss.

They finished their duties there, upon their return home they had run into one of their famed swordsman. The fight was grueling, he had sent Itachi flying into a tree using his sword as a paddle, deciding to take out who he deemed the weak one first. The man's sword absorbed chakra, so when she tried to trap him using chakra ropes connected through the falling leaves on the ground, he'd used the sword to break out of them just as she used her mind transfer. She had missed him, leaving her body completely vulnerable.

Her consciousness was just floating in the mist shrouded air, watching as the man went to kill her body. She could see Itachi throw himself in front of the attack, attempting to block with a kunai and shear strength. She felt dread run through her mind as she watched the blood spray from Itachi's side. She hoped he could hold on long enough for her mind to return to her body.

Luckily, he was still fighting when was able to pick herself up from the ground, she was glad she hadn't been injured by the man so she would at least have an advantage. He was getting ready to deal Itachi his final blow when she was able to get the jump on the man, stabbing him in the temple with the kunai Itachi had dropped earlier.

The threw the man to the side and looked at Itachi's nearly dead body. She had to get him to a medical center fast. She tried to move him but he groaned in agony. She moved him, his hands were as cold as ice, his face was too. Horrified that he was going to die, she couldn't help but start crying.

She knew she had to close his wound herself, he wasn't making it to a hospital. She quickly started tending to the giant gash on his side with the mystical palm technique, trying to put all her focus on it. She saw Itachi watching her face with hazy eyes, she couldn't stand to lose him, not the last person she had filled her heart with love.

His eyes eventually rolled back into his head, hopefully passing out due to pain instead of blood loss.

"You idiot! Why did you throw yourself in front of me like that do you not have any sense at all!" she yelled at his unconscious body. She was feeling drained but she couldn't give up on him, she yanked out sutures and a needle to begin to sew him up once the wound had closed a bit more.

She closed the wound successfully and tried to stand him up. She had put out too much energy healing him that she fell over as soon as she stood.

She powered through, feeling how cold his body still was, dragging both herself and Itachi back into Kirigakure to get them both medical attention.


	32. Kindness

32\. Kindness

It was difficult not to fall so hard for Itachi, she couldn't help it though. Even though she had tried to convince herself it wasn't going to happen, that he was too old or too skilled to fall for someone like her, it didn't work. She had felt to strongly for him for anything to displace that feeling.

He was nothing but kind to her. He complimented, helped, and protected her all the time. No one had ever shown her the same amount of caring as he didn't, not since her father passed.

There was no way around these feelings she held for him.

She could try to repay all the kindnesses that he had done for her in the past, but getting even with him would never change the way she felt. She didn't feel that she owed him love in return for the good he brought into her life, so it would never work.

She could ask him how he felt, if he broke her heart maybe she could forget about the kind sweet man he had always been to her. She didn't want that though, she wanted him in her life just as he was. She didn't need something new to add to the list of things she cried herself to sleep thinking about.

For all she knew he would lie to her to spare her feelings, because he was just that kind.


	33. Hope

33\. Hope

With everything that had gone wrong in her life, Itachi was always there for her.

He was the most important person in her life. Sure she had she had Shikamaru, Choji, and Sakura but, it was different with Itachi.

She didn't confide in others the way she confided in him, she always felt like a bother talking to anyone else. With him though, he made her feel welcome. She wasn't dumping it on him, he wanted to listen to her, he wanted her to feel better.

He had always gotten her through the worst of times, keeping her mentality in a good place no matter what was happening.

He knew what it was like to lose someone, even though it was a long time ago, he knew how she felt.

He and everything he meant to her gave her hope, hope that she could always have someone there for her, that she could always be there for someone. Hope that she could keep going no matter what happened in her life.


	34. Creative

34\. Creative

He sat with her on one of his rare days off, observing her making floral arrangements for Kurenai Yūhi's wedding to Asuma Sarutobi. She was was laser focused on making the bouquet for her former teacher's wife to be.

He had asked her how she would go about making it before she started for the day and she spoke out the image she had clearly laid out in her head.

"Red flowers to bring out her eyes of course, I'm thinking the amaryllis flower." she had told him, looking deep in thought, "I want the red in the center, fading outwards into pink then white.

He had helped her when she had asked for it, which wasn't a lot. She had this crazy determination in her eyes, churning out the decorative arrangements rather quickly.

Once she finished the bouquet intended for the bride she had stared at it with contempt. She said it was too plain, not special enough in her eyes. She let out an exasperated sigh before turning to Itachi.

"Itachi-san, would you help me take these to the reception grounds? I need a pause before I pull my hair out because of this damn bouquet."

"I think you did well on the bouquet Ino-san." he told her truthfully, picking up as much as he could and following her out the door to the wedding grounds. He listened to her rant on about how she wants this to be the best bouquet she had ever made and she wouldn't be satisfied until it was. He should have just kept his mouth shut about it.

However, the wedding was to start in a few hours and she was running out of time to fulfill her criteria. She was growing rather angry when she couldn't think of anything that she considered stunning.

"Ino-san, keep your head. I have seen what you're capable of putting together, everything you do has your own creativity showcased in it. I know that you're talented, why do you think I've always come to you to make flowers for my mother on her birthday?She loves the cascades of color you always put in your arrangements." he told her, placing a hand over her fidgeting hand.

She seemed to find sense in his words, looking into his eyes with appreciation for his compliments.

"Do you really mean it?" she asked him with a smile. He was about to respond to her when she yelled out, "That's it! A cascade!"

She thanked him before running into the back of the shop and coming out with more flowers. She moved like a mad woman, putting the flowers together before her time ran out. The final result was the red amaryllis fading down into pink then white, just like she had imagined it. The final product however, looked more like a waterfall of flowers compared to the more traditional bouquet she had assembled previously.

It definitely was the stunning, creative, show stopping bouquet she had envisioned for her former tutor's wife to be.


	35. Rest

35\. Rest

As new parents, both he and Ino were exhausted. Taking care of a child that woke up screaming 4 times a night was just utterly exhausting, there was no other way to describe it. Almost anytime he would wake up to take care of Tora, she was hungry and needed Ino.

He felt awful waking her up to feed their daughter and immediately falling back to sleep as soon as she was in Ino's care, Ino wasn't the happiest with him either when this happened.

When Tora was successfully weaned off of breast milk, his mother had volunteered to watch her overnight so the pair could actually get some sleep. They were both extremely grateful for the opportunity to get a night of wonderful, uninterrupted, dreamless sleep.

Mikoto would also have Tora spend days with her as well, giving the couple more time to rest and enjoy each other's company for a while without having to worry about changing a diaper or having their daughter start teething on one of them.

Itachi would make note to have Ino put together a thank you bouquet for his mother for letting the two of them rest every once in a while.


	36. Entwined

36\. Entwined

After all the years of believing that Itachi only saw her as a friend, it was still a little hard to believe his variation of a confession. It wasn't that she thought he wasn't genuine or that he was lying to her, she knows he'd never do that. She felt like she was in a beautiful dream since the moment he first kissed her, one that was way too good to be true.

Laying in bed with him, legs entangled with each others and holding his head close to her while he rested it on her chest, she felt silly for not believing it.

Moments like these felt so right that she doubted there was any other way for the two of them to end up. They were meant to be with each other.

Their souls were entwined with one another, she felt that they had been together for lifetimes before meeting him in the flower shop as a little girl.

That dreamlike feeling that she used to get was no longer there, it couldn't be when her feelings were so real.


	37. Hidden

37\. Hidden

It was only a few days after he had begun a romantic relationship with Ino that he had asked his father for his blessing to marry her. After a conversation about whether she was fertile and could produce an heir to the family, he had given his blessing.

He went to her parents graves soon after. He kneeled before the headstones and told them of the love he had for their daughter and that he wished to marry her and asked for some sort of sign from them that he could consider permission.

A few weeks later he had returned to see a small flower was growing out of the ground between her parents headstones, he decided to come back again when it had fully bloomed. He picked it brought it home for Ino, when she had returned from her latest mission.

"Where did you find this flower?" she asked him when he gave it to her.

"In the fields, I thought you would like it." he told her. He saw tears well up in her eyes a little before she wiped them and responded to him.

"Lily of the valley. It was my father's favorite flower, because it was also my mother's."

He decided that the flower was permission from the both of them.

Hiding the ring her purchased later that night was quite the task for him. He knew she was known to be nosey but, he had never realized it until now.

He'd had to move it several times because she had almost found it while digging around their house for a multitude of things. She'd also made comments on him acting strangely when he began to act a bit frantic when she drew near his hiding spots.

Eventually he grew tired of hiding the ring and decided he should present her with it, as keeping it hidden was proving to be more of a task than he thought it would be.

They sat on Hokage summit, looking at the village and the stars one night after a long day in the interrogation unit for her. He looked at her, breathtaking as ever, and decided now was the time.

"Ino," he called for her attention, digging the box out of his pocket, "Will you grow old with me?"


	38. Bright

38\. Bright

She sat in the flower shop wondering what the hell had just happened. She had been telling Itachi about some obnoxious woman that came into the shop earlier in the day when she realized he wasn't really paying much attention to her. He usually was a good listener even if she was talking about ridiculous things such as this so she asked him if he was alright, seeing as he could have possibly been traumatized by the event that happened on their mission to Kirigakure last week.

"I'm just thinking about something important." he replied to her. She jokingly wondered to herself what could have possibly been more important than her experience with a rude customer but, she suddenly realized he had been staring at her pretty intensely. It unnerved her a little bit if she was being honest.

"What is it?" she asked, voice slightly shaky from being under his stare. She jolted at the feeling of his hand suddenly resting on her cheek, she felt dizzy all of the sudden and her eyelids felt too heavy to keep open.

"I've just realized something I should have done a long time ago." he moved closer and kissed her, she would have been shocked if she hadn't wanted this to happen for as long as she did. Her mind completely blanked as he kissed her, unable to think of what was going on after he pulled back from her.

He was about to tell her something that she desperately wanted to hear when he was ever so rudely interrupted by one of the Hokage's messengers. He left her sitting there in confusion trying to process what had brought that on in the first place.

Her constant mental denial of anything ever happening between them romantically had been thrown for a loop as she sat there overwhelmed by the tingling sensation he had left on her lips. She hadn't known what he was about to say to her but she suddenly had this vision of a bright, happy future with him.

She sat there a little bit longer before closing shop prematurely and dashing to Sakura's home to tell her about what just happened.


	39. Shadows

39\. Shadows

A hole had been made in her heart the day her father didn't come back to the village with his squad. Her father was strong and smart and everything she wanted to be as a shinobi. When he died, an unwavering amount of grief flooded her, it rendered her useless to the outside world.

She got through it, she opened up the flower shop for business again and continued her missions. Itachi had gotten her through the thick of it but, there were still times when she felt so much sorrow that it was nearly paralyzing.

So here she was, alone standing at the edge of Hokage monument. She looked down at Konoha, taking in the streets and buildings of the city and wonders what brought her here. She wasn't sure if she was thinking of jumping, she didn't know what kind of afterlife lie ahead, if she'd see her parents again.

She missed her father so much it physically hurt, her chest would burn and her lungs felt like they stopped working as she felt the familiar sting of tears at the corners of her eyes. She wondered if it would ever get better, her father has been gone for awhile and the pain never stopped feeling fresh. It wasn't like this when her mother died, not at all. It hurt, it did but, not this bad.

She attempted a deep breath, scanning over the village again before losing her composure. She dropped to her knees, lucky she didn't fall off the monument.

He's seen her on his way back into the village, standing at the top of the monument alone. His chest felt tight, not knowing what she was doing up there so late, standing so close to the edge. He immediately gave up whatever thought he had about returning to the Uchiha compound and sped to the top of the monument.

"Ino?" he called for her, now seeing her crumpled on the ground near the edge of the monument, he felt his chest constrict again hearing her sobs.

If she heard him, there was no response. Her face still remained in her hands, blonde hair spilling in front of her as she wept. He cautiously made his way closer to her, taking slow steps until he could bend down next to her.

"You're going to fall." was all he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. He gave a gentle tug and she crashed into him, needing his embrace more than ever.

"I miss him!" she cried, "It hurts so badly, I don't know if it's ever going to stop."

"It doesn't, not for a while." He spoke as he held her, closing his eyes while he stroked her hair, "It takes a lot of time to hurt less, it never goes away but, it gets easier."

She just let out another sob. He knows she wants something to cure her of the sadness in her heart but, there's nothing that takes the pain away. All he can do is tell her the truth and be there for her when she needs him. He realizes this is easier said than done since they're both busy people but, he'd do anything for her. Whether he knows it or not.

"You can't let the shadows of guilt consume you, you need to pull yourself up and roll with the punches. I know you, Ino. You are more than capable."


End file.
